Unexpected Beginnings
by sophiee24
Summary: What happens when Riley's cousin Josh moves to New York permanently? Will promises between best friends be kept? Who will fall for who? Need I say more? Joshaya AU! (With mentions of Smarkle and Rucas) Please enjoy! I don't own Girl Meets World. (I am so incredibly sorry I suck at summaries... Please do read though, the story is a lot better than it sounds I promise!)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey everyone! So this is officially my second story and I'm really excited to see what you guys think of it! In this AU, Cory and Alan are brothers, Eric is not in this story, Cory and Josh also aren't brothers, and Amy and Topanga have a bit of a healthier relationship than what was portrayed in the show. Katy and Shawn are still together, and Josh is also the same age as Riley and Maya, and most everything else is the same. Zay, Lucas, Riley, Smackle, Farkle, and Maya are still in their tight little friend group. There may or may not be mentions of Missy Bradford and Kermit, I have yet to decide. Thank you so much for stopping by!**

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Chapter 1:

Josh's POV

I did not want to move. No matter how many times my mom tried to convince me that it'd be good for me, no matter how many times she tried to bribe me with the "freedom" of being able to take the subway by myself as an "independant 16 year old", and no matter how many times she told me I'd get to become closer with my cousins Riley and Auggie, I did NOT want to move. California was my home and New York could never replace it. So when it got to the day we were supposed to fly out to New York, you could imagine why I was a bit less than thrilled about it.

"JOSH! Come on we're gonna be late for our flight!" my mom screamed to me from downstairs.

"COMING MOM!" I shouted back. As I took a final look around my room and grabbed my backpack that would be providing entertainment for the long flight, I started to head down the stairs. I heard my parents downstairs talking, completely oblivious to the fact that I was within earshot of their conversation.

"Yes, I know you're trying to make him feel better Amy, but just keep his feelings in mind too. Moving is hard, especially after Josh has been here his whole life," my dad told my mother impatiently.

"I know Alan, but I just want him to be happy. He didn't take the news about your new job as well as I would have hoped, and I'm only trying to make him feel better. I mean, we're lucky Cory and Topanga are letting us stay with them or we'd have to-"

"Okay, I'm ready," I said nonchalantly, trying to act as if I hadn't heard a word of their previous conversation. Both my parents looked up in surprise, clearly not realizing I'd been heading downstairs while they were talking. My mom quickly recovered.

"Okay sweetheart. The movers just left with all our furniture, so just make sure you have your stuff with you that you're taking on the airplane and I'll meet you and your dad in the Uber. I just need to use to restroom real quick," she said before sharing a look with my dad and quickly leaving the room. Today was going to be an interesting day. A flight to New York and a family reunion. I just hoped everything would turn out alright.

Riley's POV

"I _know_ Riles, of course I won't fall in love with him," an exasperated Maya told me, for what felt like the millionth time. I rolled my eyes.

"I know, I'm just sayin'. He _is_ our age and he's pretty cute. Besides he's single. BUT, I will not have my best friend dating my cousin. Absolute no no. But he'll probably join our group for a bit, so play nice. And pass my message along to Zay, Lucas, Farkle, and Smackle."

"Of course, honey, whatever you'd like," she said to me as if it were obvious. "Okay I gotta go. My mom's working early at Topanga's today and Shawn and I wanted to surprise her with some muffins we baked last night. I'll see you tonight!" she told me cheerfully as she crawled out the window. I asked her to be here when Josh, Uncle Alan, and Aunt Amy's flight got in. I wanted to have at least _someone new_ to introduce to him, but I figured our whole friend group might be a bit overwhelming. Maya would be a friendly face nonethless.

"Okay Peaches. Have fun, see you later!" I called out the window behind her. I decided to text Josh.

 _ **Me:**_ _Can't wait for you guys to come! Auggie has been ranting about seeing you nonstop this past week ;)_

He replied within seconds.

 _ **Josh:**_ _Lol, yeah I'm excited to. We're about to board our flight here shortly, text you when we land in New York. Love you_

 _ **Me:**_ _Okay! Have a safe flight. Love you too_

After replying to a few texts from Lucas about having a study date sometime soon and watching a few YouTube videos, I decided to go eat some breakfast. That's the thing I love about Saturdays. You can just chill and hang out, whereas if it were a weekday, I'd be in my dad's class learning about some history lesson that completely ties in with our lives. Josh will really like his class. I hope he fits in well, which really shouldn't be hard, considering he's athletic, an amazing soccer player, pretty good looking, and incredibly smart. Girls will be swooning over him. I just hope Maya isn't one of them.

Josh's POV

The seven hour flight to New York mainly consisted of sleeping, listening to my favorite playlist, and scrolling through the in-flight entertainment system the airline provided. I was very particular about what I watched on TV, and it was rare that I enjoyed a movie that all my friends liked. I hate to admit it, but sometimes I secretly watch those sappy romantic comedies that Riley loves so much. I'd be dead if any of my friends found out though. I would never live it down. Anyway, after listening to my playlist about eight times, I realized I could not handle listening to Whatever It Takes by Imagine Dragons one more time. I swear the song lyrics were literally ringing in my ears.

 _Everybody waiting for the fall of man_

 _Everybody praying for the end of times_

 _Everybody hoping they could be the one_

 _I was born to run, I was born for this_

 _Whip, whip_

 _Run me like a racehorse_

 _Pull me like a ripcord_

 _Break me down and build me up_

 _I wanna be the slip, slip_

 _World upon your lip, lip_

 _Break me down and build me up_

 _Whatever it takes_

' _Cause I love the adrenaline in my veins_

 _I do whatever it takes_

' _Cause I love how it feels when I break the chains_

 _Whatever it takes_

 _You take me to the top I'm ready for_

 _Whatever it takes_

' _Cause I love the adrenaline in my veins_

 _I do what it takes_

The last thing I remember is falling asleep to the blaring voice of Dan Reynolds, thinking about just how interesting my life would be from now on in New York.

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 **I woke up to the startling voice of the pilot, telling us we'd be landing shortly. Finally! That flight felt way longer than I remember since last time we'd flown out to the Matthews for Thanksgiving. But then again, it's now January so it was pretty long ago and I don't remember much. Before I knew it, my mom was telling me to hurry up and get my backpack so we could exit the airplane. After more waiting at baggage claim, we headed out to find a cab so we could head to the Matthews.**

Riley's POV

After desperately catching up on a few more chapters of Me Before You, I checked my phone to find three new messages. Over the weekend Lucas challenged me to a race to read Me Before You, with the promise that he'd take me to go see the movie afterwards. Gosh, he was such a hopeless romantic sometimes. Anyway, I checked my phone to be greeted by messages from both Maya and Josh.

 _ **Josh:**_ _Hey Riles. We just landed._

 _ **Josh:**_ _Heading over in a cab now. See you guys in a bit!_

 _ **Peaches:**_ _I'm heading over now Riles!_

I decided to reply to Josh first, since his texts were sent earlier than Maya's.

 _ **Me (To Josh):**_ _Okay awesome! Can't wait to see you guys :)_

 _ **Me (To Maya):**_ _Sounds good Peaches! Josh and his family will probably be here in like twenty minutes ;)_

I set my phone down to grab a quick snack. When I came back I see that Maya replied.

 _ **Peaches:**_ _Riles, how many times do I have to tell you?! I. Am. Not. Going. To. Fall. In. Love. With. Your. Cousin. There, happy now?_

 _ **Me:**_ _Never :))_

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After Maya and I helped my mom finish cooking dinner, we heard a knock on our apartment door. My dad opened it to be greeted with open arms from my uncle.

"My brotha!" he exclaimed happily.

"My brotha!" my dad replied practically tackling him.

I noticed a short interaction between my best friend and my cousin as Josh poked his head in. I prepared to walk over and greet him. But then I saw Maya's eyes make contact with Josh's. After seeing the look on both of their faces, only two words came to my mind. _I'm screwed._

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 **Okay, so that's Chapter 1 everyone! We're starting to see a bit of juicy stuff between Josh and Maya goin' on… How will Riley react? Unfortunately, due to my busy schedule, I can't promise a definite time frame for my updates, but I** _ **can**_ **promise I will do my best to update as frequently as time will allow me! I hope y'all liked this chapter, and I'd really appreciate it if you could leave your thoughts in a review below. Thank you so, so much for reading, I appreciate each and every view!**

 **Until next time,**

 **Sophie :)**


	2. Author Replies - 1

Author Replies:

 _Guest ("Please update soon!) -_ Thank you for your review! Like I said, I will update as frequently as possible, and I will have a new chapter up in hopefully a few days!

 _Michelle ("Cute beginning.)_ \- Thank you so much! I appreciate your review :)

 _hibiscus72 ("I like the start :D Although I have a question. In the A/N you said that Alan and Cory are brothers, but you wrote the Alan is Josh's dad. Are Cory and Josh not brothers in this?"_ \- Great question! Yes, you are correct. Cory and Josh are not brothers in my story; Josh is Cory's nephew. Sorry for the confusion!

 _Guest ("So cute ahh! Please update soon! (There are a few confusing parts that may need a bit of clarification). Other than that, I love it!")_ \- Thank you so much for the kind review! I will indeed try my best to get another chapter up soon. Also, if you could specify which parts are confusing so I can fix them, that'd be awesome! Sorry for any confusion I may have caused, whether it's with the wording or the plot. Thanks again for your kind review :)

 **Thank you all so much for keeping up with/reading my story. Each and every review, follow, favorite, and view means so much to me! Expect another chapter within the next few days ;) Can't wait to see what you guys think about what I have planned coming up! If you have any specific requests for what happens next, feel free to pm me or review. Thanks so much again,**

 **Sophie :)**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hi guys! Glad to see that you're back for Chapter 2! We're starting to develop a bit of an idea as to what will happen between Josh and Maya. After all they're both single! But, will Riley allow it? Will she give them a chance? Or is she determined to prevent any sort of relationship that could possibly be starting to brew between her best friend and cousin? If you're as curious as I am, read on to find out!**

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Chapter 2:

Josh's POV

The first thing I notice as I set foot into the Matthews' apartment is a beautiful girl with striking blue eyes. I find myself getting lost in them as we make eye contact. Unfortunately, this moment is interrupted by an eager Riley.

"Josh!" she screams giddily before racing over to tackle me in a hug.

"Hey Riley. We've missed you!" I tell her, hoping she doesn't notice the blush that starts to spread on my cheeks.

Riley smiles, dragging the beautiful blonde over to me. "Josh, I'd like you to meet my best friend Maya."

Once again, I find myself getting lost in her blue eyes that remind me so much of the comforting, homey waves of California's beaches. I then realize I haven't said anything. I rub my neck anxiously, "Hi Maya. I'm Josh," I say holding my hand out for her to shake.

She graciously accepts it. "Hi Josh. It's great to meet you," she says as she continues shaking my hand. If Riley notices that this handshake is lasting longer than a normal one should, she doesn't let on. She just stands there awkwardly as we shake hands. Finally, she breaks the silence.

"So Josh, let me show you to where you'll be staying. Auggie begged to have you bunk with him in his room, and Aunt Amy and Uncle Alan will stay in the guest room," she tells me as she picks up a few of my bags while heading towards the hallway, leading me to where I assume is Auggie's room.

"Okay awesome!" I say while following her and sending a silent nod in Maya's direction, as if to tell her that I'll see her later. After exiting the living room and following Riley into Auggie's room, she turns to look at me after dropping my bags down on the carpeted floor.

"No Josh. Absolutely NOT," she tells me as if I'm supposed to know what she's talking about.

I hold my hands up innocently. "No what? I haven't even said anything!"

She rolls her eyes as if I'm supposed to be catching on by now. "No, you may not ask Maya out, you guys can NOT date. And I'm not just being mean. This is for two reasons. First of all, I will not have my cousin dating my best friend, EW. Second of all, and more importantly, I could not stand to see either of you get hurt. Therefore, you guys most certainly may not date. So please don't make some plan on asking her out, because it will not happen," she finishes resolutely.

I sigh. Her logic does make sense. I guess I'll just have to settle for being friends with her. "Okay, fine. I understand," I reply to her in a defeated tone. Maybe time will impact her decision. Because I know for sure that I'm starting to have feelings for this girl.

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Maya's POV

As Auggie was sitting on my lap, telling me about his last date with Ava, I notice Josh and Riley re-enter the room. It may just be me, but I notice a slight hint of irritation that shows on his gorgeous face. I wonder if something happened with him and Riles. From what she's told me, they rarely argue, so the idea intrigued me. Auggie's voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Joshie!" he screamed running over to his older cousin.

"Auggie!" Josh replied, just as enthusiastic. He propped Auggie up on his shoulders with ease, his face settling into its former smile, minus the irritation.

"I love it up here!" Auggie says excitedly. A grin spread across Josh's face. Suddenly, we made eye contact. It may have just been wishful thinking, but for some reason I felt a spark between us, as if we had some sort of connection. My heart started racing a million miles a minute as I began to think about it. Riley noticed this, and once again interrupted us. I couldn't be surprised, though. After all I did _promise_ her nothing would happen.

"Okay. Bay window, bay window _right_ now, Peaches," she told me as she grabbed my arm and began to drag me towards her room. Once we entered, she shut the door and sat by the bay window. "Please Peaches. Remember what I told you," she said with slight annoyance in her tone.

I groaned. "I'm sorry Riles. I just didn't think he'd be, like, that _hot_. And he seems so nice, and I bet he's really smart, and probably super funny, and-"

"And you two are _only_ going to be friends. Okay? Please Peaches it would just be too weird," she said to me pleadingly. "I already talked to Josh. I mean if I hadn't, he would've asked you out, and-"

My eyes widened. "HE WAS GONNA ASK ME OUT?!"

Riley sighed heavily. "Yeah that probably wasn't the best thing to mention right now. But for right now, just don't let on that I told you that. You guys could be really good friends," she tells me while trying to sound enthusiastic.

"Yeah, totally, great _friends_ ," I reply, emphasizing the "friends" maybe more than it should be emphasized. Even though Riley tells me we can only be friends, the thought of Josh possibly asking me out fills my body with a warmth that I haven't felt before.

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Josh's POV

Today is the first day of school. I'm nervous. But not actually as nervous as I thought I'd be. And that's mainly for one reason. Maya. Much to my surprise, our schedules are practically identical. We have Homeroom, History, English, Math, and PE together. The only class we don't have together is our elective. I chose Spanish, while according to Riley, Maya's taking art. I was surprised at my luck of us getting so many classes together. But hey, I'm not complaining. I'm really excited to get to know her. As "friends".

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Maya's POV

I used to not care for school that much. But that was before we got to high school. It's the middle of freshman year and I'm doing better than I would have thought. If the middle school me were to see me right now, she'd wonder why I'm doing so well. But once we got to high school, something in me changed. Some sort of longing to finally be good enough, and maybe even more than that. So the fact that Josh Matthews ended up in nearly every single _one_ of my classes didn't scare me as much as it would have a year or two ago. I would usually be scared that he'd think that I was what one would call a "dumb blonde", but I'm proud to announce that I've changed that. I'm no longer some dumb blonde who wouldn't be able to tell you the difference between Isaac Newton and Thomas Edison. I earn above average grades and rarely turn in homework assignments late. I've come to be proud of the student I've become over freshman year.

*A few months later*

It had become a habit of mine to do my homework every Wednesday at Topanga's while Riley went on her weekly movie dates with Lucas. As I was engrossed in my biology homework, not really paying any attention to what was going on around me, a familiar voice interrupted my concentration.

"Hey," it said, plainly. I looked up to see who it was, slightly irritated by the fact that someone would interrupt me while I was clearly studying. My irritation quickly melted away as I soon realized who it was.

"Hi Josh," I replied. "What're you doing here?"

"Oh nothing. I was just about to grab a coffee before I started my homework. I didn't expect to see anyone familiar here," he said wiggling his eyebrows goofily as I began to giggle. Over the past few months Josh and I had become surprisingly close as friends as a result of our similar schedules, yet nothing more. I mean, sure there was the occasional flirty comment from one of us, or winks at each other from across the room, but nothing that would get us in trouble with Riley. As evident as our feelings were for each other, it wasn't worth it to argue about it with Riley. But nonetheless, it still didn't stop the growth of our friendship.

Josh gave me one of his crooked smiles. An idea suddenly popped into my head. "Hey, maybe I could join you? Like a study date-ish kinda thing?" I said, but soon regretted my choice of words. "I mean not date, more like hangout of course, I mean a date would be weird, and Riley would not be happy, and-"

"Yes Maya, of course you may join me. I'd love to have a study date," he told me with a wink.

* * *

Josh's POV

We walked back to the Matthews' apartment in a comfortable silence. We both knew the route well, so it was a pretty quick walk.

"Where's everyone at?" Maya questioned upon our arrival.

"Well Auggie's hanging out with Ava, Mr. Matthews is at school grading papers, and Mom, Dad, and Aunt Topanga are still at work also. But I've no idea where Riley is," I said curious as to why she wasn't with Maya in the first place. Maya shot me an amused look with her eyebrow raised. "What?" I asked her, now confused. She laughed.

"Nothing, it's just that Riles is out with Lucas right now. I mean, in case you were wondering."

I groaned. "Of _course_ she's with Lucas. I mean, I know Mr. Matthews is overprotective and all, and I don't mean to be like him, but does she really have to spend all her time with _him_?" I questioned, pouting. Maya started cracking up.

"Like uncle, like nephew," she attempted.

"Um, I'm pretty sure that's not the saying. I believe it's 'like father like son' but whatever. Let's get started on homework."

"Whatever you say, Boing," she said walking out of the living room with her backpack, heading in the direction of Auggie's room. I laughed at her recently thought-of nickname for me. ("It suits you" is what she'd always tell me.)

We were studying for a few hours in the empty house when she flopped on the bed. I raised my eyebrow at her.

She rolled her eyes. "I'm tiiiiiired," she complained. "Can we take a break please?" she pleaded, trying to give me a look somewhere in between a pouty lip and sad, puppy dog eyes.

I relented. "Fine. We can just talk I guess." She nodded in agreement, and I scooted closer so I was sitting next to her on the bed. "Sooo, see any cute guys today?" I asked her awkwardly.

"Nope, nope, definitely not. I am _not_ having this conversation with you Boing. Not by a long shot. But I would like to ask you the same. Got your eye on any girl in particular?" she asked me mischievously.

I looked at her intensely. "Yeah. She's this amazing, super smart girl with really nice blond hair, and beautiful blue eyes," I reply only half-joking.

A blush starts to spread around her cheeks as she meets my gaze, with an equally intense stare. "Oh Josh," she starts.

I leaned in close to her so I could feel her breath against my face, and our foreheads were practically touching. "You don't have to say anything Maya. I get it," I told her. Before I knew it, she closed the small gap between us and kissed me. And I felt myself kissing her back. I knew it was wrong, but it just felt right at the moment. Until…

"Hey Josh, have you seen my _Me Before You_ book, I wanted to ask Lucas something about it before he leaves-" she stopped upon seeing me and Maya kissing. We both instinctively pulled away at the sound of Riley's voice. But by the look on her face I knew that she definitely caught me and Maya. We quickly shared a look of panic. _Oh crap_.

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 **So there you have it folks! That's Chapter 2! It's getting a little intense, with Riley walking in on Josh and Maya having what one would call "a moment"! Anyway, if there is any way in particular that you would like this story to go, definitely leave me a review or pm me so I can get your input! Thank you all so much for the continued support!**

 **Until next time,**

 **Sophie :)**


	4. Author Replies - 2

_Author Replies:_

 _Guest ("Ugh, Riley has such bad timing.") -_ Thank you very much for your review! And haha yes, I agree she most definitely does. But I do believe that that's what makes it interesting :) Stay tuned to see her reaction!

 _Guest ("So good! Please update soon!") -_ Aw thank you so much for reviewing, you're so sweet! Thank you for your support, and I will for sure update as soon as I possibly can :)

 _Cheerra12 ("Riley seems to be a little too harsh") -_ Thank you so much your feedback is greatly appreciated! And yes, I did indeed portray her to be a little harsh in the past few chapters, but I have every intention of keeping her a little more like her usual self from now on ;) Thanks for your input, I really appreciate it!

 _Guest ("Omg! Please don't leave us hanging!") -_ I would like to give you a huge thanks for reviewing! It warms my heart to see that you're so interested in my story, thank you for appreciating my writing and story! I will definitely not leave y'all hanging, a new chapter will be up soon, I promise :)

 **Hey guys! So I figured I'd do more author replies since we do indeed have a few more reviews. And yes, in case anyone is wondering, the next chapter is well underway and y'all can expect it within the next few days! Thank you all so much for the continued support and constant reviews, follows, and favorites. You guys are awesome!**


	5. Chapter 3

**Hello all! Welcome back! So, so, SO sorry for the long wait, I've had a bit of trouble figuring out what I want for this chapter. But I finally am able to get it up! So… Where did we leave off? OH yeah! Maya and Josh getting caught by Riley. Yikes! I hope you all like this next chapter that I've written. Any specific preferences or suggestions may be attended to by just sending me a pm or writing a review. I would like to send a huge thank you to each and every one of you that have kept up with my story, it means way more than I can ever express in words. Anywayyy, let's get on with the story! Please do enjoy :)**

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Josh's POV

"Riles I can explain!" I start frantically. She looks at me and nods as if to tell me to continue. "Me and Maya were just studying together, you know, as _friends_ , and we decided to take a break and just talk. We just got caught up in the moment," I finished, with Maya confirming this with a nod of her head.

"Yeah Riles I promise you he's telling the truth. We would never sneak around behind your back," Maya told her seriously.

However, Riley's expression was unreadable. She just held a straight face, as if she were pondering on what we'd just told her. Finally, after several long moments, she looked up at us defeated. "Fine. I mean I knew I couldn't keep you guys apart forever. So Josh, have you seen my book?" she turns to look at me questioningly, dropping the previous matter altogether.

Even though I was trying to process what had just happened, a response somehow made its way out of my mouth. "Um yeah. I saw it on the kitchen counter I think," I tell her unsure, and still very confused.

"Okay thanks," she replies as she turns to head out the door.

"What in the world just happened?" Maya asks me questioningly the second Riley closes the door behind her. "That seemed way too easy."

I nod my head in agreement. "Yeah it did. But for right now, we might as well take advantage of it, right?" I wanted to make it sort of official, so I quickly hurried out of Auggie's room to retrieve a paint brush from the Matthews' art closet. I hurried back so I wasn't leaving Maya hanging for long, and got down on one knee, holding out the paint brush as if it were a flower. "Would you, Maya Hart, like to do me the lovely honor of being my girlfriend?" I asked while biting my lip unsurely.

She looked back at me beaming with that dazzling smile of hers. "I would love nothing other than to be your girlfriend Joshua Matthews," she replied happily. I handed her the paint brush and she laughed whole heartedly. I loved that laugh. I now knew that I could fully be happy here because I would have someone like Maya by my side.

Maya's POV

I was nervous for school today. Josh and I decided we'd basically just act all couple-y and wait for people to notice, rather than telling people outright and making things awkward. Riles and I got to school and found Josh waiting for us by the front entrance. He shot me a crooked grin and walked over to grab my hand.

Riley looked at us up and down and made a face. "Gross," she said, walking into the school to find Lucas.

Josh looked at me. "You ready?" he asked.

I looked back at him unsurely. "Ready as I'll ever be," I sighed. I reluctantly began to pull Josh's hand towards the school, but he wouldn't budge. I turned around to look at him.

"Hey, come here," he told me softly and with open arms. I gladly accepted his hug. He pulled my chin up so my eyes could meet his. "Whatever happens, however people react, we'll get through it together. Alright?" he asked me.

I nodded. "Alright." He wrapped his arms around me tighter, bringing me closer to him, and I buried my head in the crook of his neck. "I wish we could stay like this forever," I mumbled.

He chuckled lightly. "I know. Me too." I reluctantly pulled away from him, and with that, we made our way to the door.

Josh's POV

I knew Maya was nervous about how people would react to us being together, so I squeezed her hand reassuringly as we walked into school. Upon our arrival, we spotted our group and began to head toward them. All conversation going on between them stopped as everyone's eyes went immediately to the intertwined hands of Maya and I. Most of their expressions were unreadable, but I did notice an eyebrow raise from Lucas, which was followed by Riley mouthing something to him. He nodded in return as if he understood. The only one who seemed remotely fine with it was Zay.

"It is about _time_!" he said unimpressed. Everyone's focus shot in his direction.

Farkle looked at him in confusion. "I beg your pardon?"

Zay rolled his eyes in return. "Oh come on, guys. Don't tell me y'all haven't noticed the looks this one's been givin' him," he said motioning towards Maya. "And as for him," he said pointing towards me, " _he_ has not taken his eyes off of _her_ since he got here," now going back to motioning towards Maya. "I mean y'all have made it pretty obvious if you ask me," he said with a snort.

I looked towards Maya and saw her jaw drop. The bell rang, signifying the start of the school day, and our group split apart, heading our separate directions. Luckily Maya and I shared the same homeroom so we could walk together. She looked at me somewhat amused.

"Well _that_ went well," she told me. I laughed at her sarcastic comment.

"Yeah. It did," I replied while grabbing her hand again to give it a squeeze. In all honesty, I was just happy that she didn't seem as worried as she did earlier. As long as she was happy, I was happy.

We got to homeroom and took our seats together in the back row as they began morning announcements.

* * *

The rest of the day went pretty smoothly after that. We did earn a couple of stares and confused looks from people in the hallways seeing as how Maya was practically glued to my side the rest of the day, but I didn't mind. I was in my last class of the day, when my teacher called me up to her desk. "Josh, can you come up here please?" she called as my class was quietly completing the assigned coursework for the day. I stood up and walked towards her desk.

"Yes Mrs. Collins?"

She grabbed a small envelope from her desk drawer and handed it to me. "Do you mind taking this up to the front office for me? Just hand it to Mrs. Wu."

"Which one is-"

"She's the one who sits closest to the east wing entrance," Mrs. Collins said with a laugh. "Thanks Josh," she told me.

I turned to walk out of the classroom towards the front office. As I was heading back, I ran into someone who was heading the opposite direction as me. "Oh, I'm so sorry," I told the girl apologetically.

She looked up at me. "Oh that's okay, no problem at all. You're Josh, right?" she asked me.

I nodded. "Yeah. Do I know you?" I asked, a bit confused.

"Oh I'm Missy," the girl said. "Missy Bradford."

Maya's POV

I had to go to the bathroom in the middle of another boring lecture, so I slipped out of class as quietly as I could. On my way, I turned a corner and found Missy and Josh talking. I quickly ducked around the corner again, hoping to overhear a part of their conversation. As I peeked around the corner I saw Missy twirling her hair, flirtasiouly as always.

"So Josh, do you maybe wanna go out sometime?" she asked. I rolled my eyes. "I mean, I heard about that thing with you and Maya. I'm really sorry. There's no need to date her out of pity. You can do _so_ much better," she ranted, inspecting her french manicure while waiting for a response casually.

Josh looked taken aback and angry. "Actually, I'm good thanks. Maya's one of the most kind-hearted and genuine people I know. And I'd _much_ rather spend my time with her than _you_ ," Josh spat angrily. He turned around to go back to class, leaving a speechless Missy behind.

My heart swelled at his defensiveness on my behalf. Having forgotten my need to use the restroom, I turned back to go to class.

* * *

 **Soooo that's it everyone! What'd y'all think? It would mean to world to me to hear your feedback, whether it be a review or a pm. I'm so incredibly sorry for the long wait and short chapter, I've been extremely busy. While I still can't promise a definite schedule to post new chapters, I will try my absolute best to have them up for you guys as soon as I can. Thank you all so much for all of your support, each and every review, follow, and favorite means so, so much to me. Thanks for understanding!**

 **Until next time,**

 **Sophie :)**


	6. Author Replies - 3

Author Replies:

 _Guest ("_ _Missy doesn't know when to give up, does she. I thought the way Josh asked Maya to be his girlfriend was adorable._ " _) -_ Thanks a lot for your review! And thank you for your kind words :) I agree! Missy is so persistent and oblivious sometimes! Anyway, I'm glad you liked my portrayal of the first of _**many**_ of Joshaya's cute moments. Stay tuned for more!

 _Grace ("_ _That was cute! I especially liked the part where Josh creatively pretended the paintbrush was a flower. Sometimes, you just gotta improvise with what you got haha. Update soon please!_ " _) -_ Thank you so very much! I'm so glad to hear that you're enjoying the story! And yes, Josh was very cute with the way he asked Maya out. Very resourceful! An update will be coming out soon ;)

 _Erin9877 ("_ _Josh asking Maya to be his girlfriend and giving her a paintbrush instead of a flower was cute. Lots f guys would do it with a rose but Josh knows Maya and the paintbrush was definitly the way to go :) I loved how sweet Josh was when he saw how nervous Maya was going into the school holding his hand. Missy doesn't give up even when she stands no chance. Poor Josh._ " _) -_ Thank you so, so much for your feedback and review, I appreciate it! It makes me so happy that you enjoyed reading this chapter! And yes, I did want to portray Josh's comforting side a little more in this chapter, so I'm glad you liked it! Thank you so much for continuing to read my story :)

 _Guest ("_ _Awww, Loved this._ " _) -_ Thank you for reviewing! I'm so happy that you've enjoyed the chapter and kept up with my story! Thank you again :)

 _Guest ("_ _Josh was adorable asking Maya out with a paint brush._ " _) -_ I would like to give you a huge thank you for your feedback! I'm happy to hear that you like the first of many cute Joshaya moments! More to come ;)

 **Thank you all again for the continued support! All of you that have reviewed, followed, favorited, and honestly just kept up with the story itself are amazing! I'm beyond grateful for you guys, and honored to be writing this story for you all :) An update will become your way very soon, so stay tuned everyone! You guys rock!**


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